


RX

by Starryar (Breadmione)



Series: Medical Perscription [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prison, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Suicide Mention, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Happy Halloween, Hurt/Comfort, Meet-Ugly, Polyjuice Potion, Prison, Recreational Drug Use, Redemption, Suicidal Ideation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27386428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breadmione/pseuds/Starryar
Summary: STOP! Did you know this one shot was expanded into a multi-chap? Check out 'RX - The Full Story' for additional content!------Written for the Double Trouble Fest. Thank you Dramione Fanfiction Writers for hosting this!Assigned Tropes: Meet Ugly & Prison AU. Please mind the tags.------Draco Lucius Malfoy was stuck in-between enjoy life and rebuilding it. Should he throw his life away on the drugs, or should he create an honorable legacy for the Malfoy name? Perhaps he already knew the answer, but was putting off responsibility as long as he could.Hermione Jean Granger had been hit hard after the war. She didn't qualify for the order of Merlin and she had no family due to her memory charms being too great. The war veteran decided that Healer School was her best bet at undoing her own charms, but the price for education was never cheap.Two days in one cell and the two once enemies may find unexpected help in each other - if they don't get charged with murder first.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: Medical Perscription [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047892
Comments: 28
Kudos: 42
Collections: DFW Tropes Fest: Double Trouble





	RX

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: While I work in the medical field, I do want to preface this with I am in no way a provider. I do not prescribe medications, nor do I have the qualifications to. Anything that is said in this fic should not be taken as professional medical advice.
> 
> If you are struggling with Suicidal thought in the USA, please visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ as they have a phone number and chat available 24/7 and services for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
> 
> If struggling with addiction in the USA, do not hesitate to reach out to SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

_Fuck, this can not be happening_. "Please officer, I promise I -"

"Save it, you bloody chav. We already booked you."

"Ch - Chav?" Hermione's ankle buckled from being pulled forward when she paused in astonishment from being called the derogatory name. "I am not, and have never been a -"

"If you finish that sentence, I promise you my team and I will conveniently lose your paperwork, boy." The older police officer gripped her arm even tighter in his boney grip and she knew she would be sporting a bruise once she was released – but that was the least of her problems. With his other hand, he opened up the custody cell where she saw there was one other man in there. If the situation had been any different, Hermione would laugh at the fact that Draco Malfoy of all people had been at the same Muggle Halloween party she was at and managed to get himself arrested just like she had.

But her eyes didn't even wrinkle as she got shoved into the custody cell he had already occupied.

The cell door slammed behind her, causing her to jump at the dull _clunk_ of an attached contraption locking beneath the cement floor could be heard. Her stomach sank at the sound as she processed how _royally_ fucked she was. "Turn around." Hermione complied, putting her hands through the small hole just big enough for her currently meaty, manly hands to be squeezed through.

She wondered how fast the Ministry would be alerted once the potion wore off.

"Hey! I said I didn't want to be put in with anyone." Draco sauntered over to the cell and banged a fist on one of the bars.

The officer uncuffed Hermione and took one step over so he was now parallel to where Draco stood behind the bars. The officer had his thumbs in his belt loops, and an amused look on his face – clearly not threatened by the blonde's aggression. "What are you going to do about it?" The officer grumbled as he gave Draco a dirty once over. "Bloody pouf." Draco was dressed head to toe in white, and Hermione noted that even in the dull light, his white shorts that was paired with an open dress shirt had a shiny, iridescent sheen to it. The copper glanced over at Hermione and grinned. "You boys play nice, but I don't want to come back tomorrow and hear you two got caught sucking each other off." The officer walked off without a backward glance.

Draco pressed his face to the bars, looking in the direction he had disappeared into. "WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU FUCKING -"

 _Still the entitled arsehole he had always been, I see_. "Do you really think yelling at a copper is going to get you better treatment in a _police station_?"

Draco immediately spun around to look at her – Except he couldn't see her for _who_ she truly was. Not yet. If Hermione's calculations were correct – which she knew they were as this was not the first time she had brewed an extended polyjuice potion – then she had approximately two hours left before it wore off and her real identity would be revealed.

For now though, Draco's angry gaze had settled on the short curly brunette hair and freckled face of Helios Jacob Granger, Hermione's younger brother who was living, happily obliviated, with their parents in Australia. "Did I _ask_ you what I thought would and would not help me?" Draco had grit his teeth and stepped closer to Helios' small frame. While her brother was only three years younger than she, they hardly differed in height. This would have served as a small problem as Draco had inches on both of them, but she didn't think the height mattered at this exact moment. She and Draco had both been stripped of their wands by the muggle police and having grown up with a rough housing younger brother, Hermione thought she could take him if needed.

"No, you didn't Malfoy, but I would think that having Voldemort living with you for so many years would have taught you when to shut - "

Draco grabbed Hermione by the red latex lapels of her jumpsuit and slammed her against the metal bars behind her. Pain shot through her neck and shoulders as the sensitive skin of her back was pressed again the harsh, unforgiving metal. "Who the fuck are you? You think you can just talk to me like that?" Hermione looked him square in the eye and saw something she did not expect: His pupils were near pin pricks. The cell was dimly lit as it was 'lights out' and with the slate gray of his irises, his pupils should have been blown. A memory came to the forefront of her mind that was soon joined with a cocky smile to her face. _So he likes painkillers._

_Hermione felt the bass thrum through her entire body and shake the foundation of the house she was in. She looked down at the watch she kept from her father's collection. She sold every last one to pay for healer school except this one and she only wore it on the special work nights – Like tonight. She sighed as she debated if it would be worth to break one of her rules by staying longer than the four hour window she allotted herself to make sales. Muggles were partying hard this Halloween night, and she couldn't say she didn't appreciate the business._

_"Logic," Hermione, disguised as Helios, turned around hearing her password being called to face a red-headed university student who was dressed as some kind of sexy mouse._

_"Is what the Devil likes most." Hermione finished the quote before she pulled her backpack in front of her. Another rule was that she never sold to anyone who did not know what her password was for that night. Considering that she had dressed as the Devil himself for the function, she thought the quote was fitting. "What are you looking for?"_

_"You got any trammies?" The red head bounced on the spot as she pulled out her notes, ready to pay Hermione. She wasn't bouncing in time with the music – it was more of the itching and jittery type of movement. The red-head was probably already high, but so long as the buyer was coherent, Hermione was willing to sell. That was another rule._

_Hermione sifted through her bag before she felt the familiar feel of the small pellet like drugs in a plastic bag. "How many?"_

_The next time she saw the red-head, she was snogging a blonde who was dressed head to toe in white, complete with angel wings and a gold halo. She thought the bloke looked familiar, but before she could give the male a second thought, someone else needed her: "Hey! Logic!"_

Hermione realized too late that after the red-head bought the lot, she should have apparated back to her flat, but she had been too... ambitious.

Remembering her mistake and the anger that was solely aimed at her cretinous behavior, she shoved Malfoy off of her, and he stumbled back with ease. She pulled her chest up and curled her hands into fists as she adopted the typical menacing posture men used. Deciding he was as good as anyone else to take the rage she felt out on, she decided to toy with him a bit. "Don't worry about it. How about you sober up from whatever that Weasley looking muggle gave you and keep your mouth shut before you make things worse than they already are?" Helios' voice ricocheted off the walls and she was satisfied seeing the reaction she got out of Draco by using the name of a family he still hated to this day. She only slightly regretted saying the name as she knew Molly and Arthur – who practically adopted her after the war – were going to be livid once she told them where she had been all weekend.

Draco blanched at what the male muggle - No, he reprimanded himself through the mental fog he felt, male wizard – had said. Draco never gave his name out when he decided to slum in the Muggle world and this bloke knew who he was, meaning he had to be a wizard. Even through whatever drug the fit muggle he snogged gave to him, he knew it would be a bad idea to piss this bloke off any further, especially when trying to pin him had taken nearly all of his focus to fight the heavy affects of the drug.

Not to mention, it would only make his attempt at bribing the wizard later that much more difficult. He can't go to The Prophet. _Mother will have a conniption._ Draco walked backwards, never taking his eyes off the young man, trying to place his face. _The eyes look familiar, but I've never seen him before in my life. I'm sure of it_. Finally, the back of Draco's knees hit the bench he was sitting in before and he sank down, giving the short man what he tried to make a dangerous look, but wasn't sure it was convincing as all his body wanted to do was relax. "Just stay away from me."

Hermione snorted. _As if I would want to be anywhere near you._ Biting back her retort, she sat on another bench in the holding cell and crossed her arms over her chest.

She didn't think she would get much sleep for the night, but if she did, she was determined her back wasn't going to be facing a former death eater.

* * *

Hermione groaned upon waking up from the pain of how stiff her neck and back was. She rubbed a hand over the nape of her neck and inhaled sharply trying to stifle a yawn. _Why am I sitting and why does my room smell like piss and -_

_Oh._

"Fuck!" She had hoped it was a dream, a terrible, sodding nightmare, but the truth was as clear as day now that she was awake: Hermione Jean Granger had been arrested by Muggles for selling illegally acquired prescription drugs. "Fuck!" She put her head in her hands. _Why did I not just follow my own guidelines? Four hours – get in, get out. Never stay till the party ends!_ Hermione felt panic fill her, the dread pulled down her chest like it had the morning after the Battle of Hogwarts: She had just lost everything all over again.

"Gr - Granger? Is that you?"

 _Him_! Hermione felt her hands twitch against her face. She slowly inched her head back up, just enough so she could peak over her finger tips to look Malfoy in his bloodshot eyes.

He pulled back, seeing enough of her face to know it really was her. _But... They brought in a man last night_. He glanced at her chest, but at the angle she was in and her waist length curls flying in every direction, it was hard to get a clear view of her chest to confirm if she really was as flat chested as he used to think.

Seeing several different emotions flit across Draco's mug, she straightened up and she schooled a scowl on her face. "Sod off, Malfoy." It was a complete front she was putting on, she knew that, but she would be damned to let one of the few people who made her life hell when she was younger see her break down.

Draco, usually armed with a witty reply, said nothing as he saw the amount of cleavage her latex suit was providing him. _Maybe I was just that gone that I didn't notice it was her._ He opened his mouth, only to feel like it was dry as cotton before closing it. His brain and body were sluggish and more than anything, he wanted water. "What time is it?"

Hermione huffed and through one hand in the air. "Oh, let me just pull out my watch or my wand and I'd be more than happy to let his majesty know of what time it is. Should I go fetch some tea for you while I'm at it?" Hermione made a show of holding an arm to her face as if she still wore her father's watch. "Oh, look at that! It's half past We're-still-being-detained!"

Draco stared at her, mouth agape and nose wrinkled from how aggressive she was being. _How did I_ not _notice it was her last night?_ Draco tried to recall what few words were exchanged and he clearly remembered a deep, barking voice replying to him. "I don't know whose wand is still buried in your arse, but key word is _we_ and I don't know how things work on this side of Britain." While his voice was at a much lower volume than hers, it held twice the venom. "Nothing makes sense to me here: Like why did they take my shoes and not yours?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and rubbed at her temples. She was taking her anger out on him, something that had seemed like a good idea last night, but at the moment, she could argue he wasn't exactly on the deserving end of it – not to mention it wouldn't help them to be at each other's necks until tomorrow morning. Hermione let out a groan. I still have to be here one more day. She silently vowed she would never risk going out on a Saturday night again.

"Are you going to tell me why I have to walk across this filthy floor while you keep your dainty little toes protected?"

Hermione cocked an eyebrow at him. _Dainty? That's the word he chose?_ "Did you have shoelaces?" Draco nodded and waved an arm as if to say _obviously_ and Hermione lifted the leg of her pants to show him that her boots did not have any. "It's to prevent you hurting yourself or others."

 _Interesting_. Draco swallowed hard, deciding that he was going to attempt to pull the sympathy card on Hermione to get back in her good graces. "They didn't need to do that. Tried that once before - Didn't exactly work out."

A burning heat burned within her and the words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them: "Didn't have the gall to put someone out of their misery, did you? Or did you prefer to get off watching them writhe in pain on yOUR DRAWING ROOM FLOOR?!" Hermione was bent forward on her side of the cell, practically spitting from the fury that made her hair frizz and cackle with magic. She was still dealing with closure from the war, and she was far from addressing the day she had been tortured at Malfoy Manor. It didn't help she was unable to afford a therapist or a mind healer like Ron had.

Ever since he was a young boy, Draco had been taught how not to react, and how to make touch decisions as self-preservation should be put above everything else. Of course, he never utilized any of the information instilled within him before fifth year as he was spoiled to the point of never taking his parents teachings seriously. After Voldemort lived in his home, it changed everything. Now that he was gone, Draco was back with trying to figure out if he wanted to be the care-free, shit stirring youngster he was, or the reserved man he had been forced to be.

Either way, he still got up to shove his forearm into Hermione's face.

 _I'm an asshole_. Hermione had only looked at the mangled dark mark for a few seconds before looking away, but it told her everything she needed to know. "Look at it, Granger. If you think you know everything, it shouldn't be an issue." Draco moved so it was in her view again, but she went back to looking in the other direction. He tried once again to force her to look, but when she closed her eyes, he knelt in front of her, placing both hands on his knees as if he were going to talk to a child. He had no intentions of even showing her the mark, he only wanted to open a dialogue between the two, guilt trip her just a tad, but his attempted suicide was a very sensitive subject, just like Voldemort was. "Since you don't want to look, I'll tell you about it. That scar that slices the Dark Lord's mark in half? I did it. I was so fucking _chuffed_ to see my aunt on top of you, giving you your own mark that I climbed into my claw foot bathtub that night, filled it with water and slit both of my arms open." Hermione opened her eyes hearing what had happened as she was recovering at Shell Cottage and met his fierce gaze. While his pupils were small, they were no longer pinpricks and his usually pale, marble complexion was a bright pink from the anger she had brought out of him. "I tried to make the one over my Dark Mark fifteen inches long – that was the length of the wand Potter stole, in case you didn't know that either. I thought it would serve some poetic justice, but instead, my mother found me and I got crucio'd by Voldemort for my first attempt at murder being on _myself_." He stood up and strode over to the metal bench he had preoccupied all night and threw himself back on to it, jaw clenching and unclenching from anger.

Hermione's entire being trembled as she sat frozen in place. He hadn't killed anyone? He tried to off himself the same night I was tortured? He was subjected to the Cruciatus Curse, too?

Hermione pulled her knees into her nearly bare chest as a lot had just been unloaded about someone that she thought she hated for several years now. She and many others in the Wizarding world considered the Malfoys to be a catalyst in the war due to Draco's hand in letting the Death Eaters in to Hogwarts so they could murder Dumbledore. As her head slowly wrapped around his words, she was hit with a heavy truth that was the source of her trembling: _This changes everything_. Everything she knew about Draco had been uprooted and she _hated_ it. Nothing was stagnant after the war had ended and it scared her.

Life just kept moving on, with or without her.

She swiped at her eyes and decided that she would try to get better sleep. Being conscious was starting to become too much for her; Being awake meant she had to think and right now, she thought she had too much to think about. She laid down on the bench, tucking her hair beneath her temple for a makeshift, itchy pillow while she kept her back to Malfoy and the rest of the cell.

Before Hermione could fall asleep though, she heard the steps of an officer approaching their cell. "Granger?" The scratchy voice was from the copper who brought her into the cell.

 _Shit_. When she had been booked, she had given them Helios' information – She had to. Even if she had not been carrying his passport for identification purposes, there would be no way they would believe her to be _Hermione. This is it, this is where shit really hits the fan_. Hermione tried to will herself to get up and face the officer, but it was as if she was paralyzed. She wondered if the Ministry were going to put her on trial for breaching the Statute of Secrecy and how bad her punishment would be for allowing the Muggle Police to process her while she was still under the influence of Polyjuice.

"I know you're awake, but you don't have to get up." She heard him whistle and she could imagine the grin on his face. "You're practically a walking pharmacy, huh? Xanax, Percocets, Adderall, Tramadol. Even had that Special K you kids are so fond of now-a-days. You're going to be going away, for a long, long time -"

"Thank you, Sir." Hermione didn't bother to disguise her voice. _It is only a matter of time, anyway_.

The officer sniffled, not liking that the beginning of his tirade was cut short. "Cheeky, little -"

"Is that all, Sir?" Draco's drawl had the hairs on Hermione's neck stand on end. Somehow, he had mastered the skill to end a conversation at will, even if he was not the man on top.

The officer clucked once before clearing his throat. "Malfoy, is it? Come 'ere, you have a visitor."

Even though it had been several years since she had last seen her family, there were several occurrences where hope would strike Hermione's core, lighting her entire body up like a grand Weasley Wizard Wheezes fireworks display before it was zapped out of her quicker than it came. This was one of those times: She felt excited that at the prospect that her family would be visiting her like Draco's had before her mind caught up with the present, remembering that it wouldn't happen.

Hermione closed her eyes and ignored the sounds of the metal cuffs being put on Draco and the door being opened. When she heard their footfalls becoming more and more distant, she curled in tighter on to herself and squashed down the thought that she _wished_ it was her that was being taken to see her family instead. It would only bring her to tears that she didn't want anyone, especially Malfoy, to see.

* * *

Draco knew his family had been crooked in the past, and depending on who was asking, they were still crooked, but he would not have traded his mother in for anything else in the world. Narcissa Malfoy had always put him first, and he this time was hardly any different – Minus the threat she made if he did not get himself together – but he always knew that when she eventually found out about how much time he spent partying with Muggles, she would have put her foot down. He was just grateful that she not only was willing to help him with the favor he asked for, but she was still willing to give him his wand, instead of making him wait until tomorrow when she was able to bail him out.

"It's a shame that awfully nice ladies like you mum end up with rotten kids like you." This officer was a woman who had more wrinkles than Madam Pince had books, but she was still just as vile as the man before her. Draco thought he still preferred their company to Dementors any day though, as he thought about what his father had to deal with on a daily basis.

"It's adorable that you think she's kind." Narcissa was kind, to _him_ and anyone else she wanted something from, but the woman was partially right, he considered himself to be fairly rotten.

"Ungrateful prat." She shoved him into the cell before slamming the door shut and banging her baton twice against the iron bars, beckoning him to put his hands into the small slot so he could be uncuffed.

Once he was free, he sneered before getting the last jab in. "Old cunt." He couldn't cover up the flinch he made as she slammed her baton against the cell door again before she left them alone. He watched her disappear before turning to Hermione who was watching him over her shoulder. She was no longer trying to sleep and had positioned herself so her back was to the door while she stuffed her face with whatever slop the jail had provided them. Meeting his eyes for the first time since their argument, she pointed to where he had sat before and saw that his food was waiting for him. Draco frowned at that. While the act of her placing it in what was temporarily considered his spot was not a spectacular one, it still meant more than her just leaving the plate and his small bag of milk by the cell door. "I'm surprised you bothered to face an officer and let him see you as you are now." He walked over to wear his food was with a wrinkled nose. Whatever the food was, he reckoned that even Dobby had eaten better food when he was serving the Malfoys.

"I didn't. There's a second opening at the bottom of the door where they pass us our food." The words felt weird tumbling out of her mouth. Never did she envision herself in prison. A part of her mused she should be relatively happy her family was obliviated so she wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of her fall from grace with them. "I waited until they left to retrieve the trays."

Draco looked back at the door and saw that she was right, per usual. He glanced at her once more to see she was chewing the last bit of the slice of bread they gave her. After swallowing, she tried once again to start a civil conversation. "If I tell you it's bouillabaisse, will you eat it?"

"No." He sat next to the tray of food, with a grimace on his face. _Just one salt and pepper package? I'll need a whole tray of garnishes before this is anywhere near edible._

"I'm sorry."

Draco didn't feel a single stroke of happiness hearing her words, but he also wasn't the type to let someone else get off so easily: "I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Hermione thought she deserved that. "I'm sorry for assuming the worst of you like everyone else had. It wasn't right of me to take my anger out on you and bring up the past."

He blinked several times after hearing her confession. He watched her face to see any sign of insincerity, but it wasn't there. Draco's eyes drifted, from her face, to her outfit, then down to the floor where his bare feet were. He had forgotten how direct she was. Instead of saying he accepted her apology though, he decided to continue the conversation. "You were at the party, then?" Draco poked at the food with the plastic fork he was given before deciding the only safe thing he could eat was the bread.

"I was." She carefully admitted. Hermione watched him, unable to make heads or tails of his feelings towards her. He was talking to her, a huge plus, but he didn't explicitly say that he forgave her. That was something that bothered her a lot as she wasn't accustomed to being in the wrong. "You'll wand to drink your fluids. It'll help with the -"

"And you were there selling drugs? To Muggles?"

 _So he only wants information from me_. Hermione frowned, but she didn't see the harm in indulging in information he already knew. "I was."

"Why?" Now Draco looked up at her. He took a bite of the bread and stopped chewing almost immediately when he felt how stale it was. Refusing to breathe through his nose, he continued to chew it as if he had not noticed it, but he tossed the slice on to the mystery food. Hermione looked away from him, causing annoyance to bubble within him. "Come now, I told you my big, dark secret -"

"Because I'm broke." She admitted angrily, but not because of his persistence. "Because of some archaic bylaw, without me being at least a Half-blood, I can not receive the Order of Merlin, but I still have to pay for Healer school somehow. Selling my parents' home and most of their belongings only paid for my first year and the only lucrative ploy I could come up with was duplicating medication from my part-time pharmaceutical job and selling it." Hermione bit back a sob. She was ashamed, she had been since the first sale, but healer school was her only hope in her attempt to undo the damage she had done to her family. She missed her father and his god awful jokes, she missed her mother who always knew the right thing to say, and _Helios_. Her only brother who brought the sun on any rainy day. It was in that moment she was finally coming to terms with the truth of what was going to happen: Once the Healer school Hermione had been attending found out she had charges placed on her that were drug related, she would be kicked out. The Wizarding world apparently didn't care that it was in the Muggle like they had with the Order of Merlin she deserved. Hermione supposed it had to do with the principle of stealing restricted products and distributing them. "Fuck, is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes." Hermione looked up at Draco with a heated glare. "The truth, I mean. No insults or anything thrown between us."

Hermione's taut shoulders relaxed. "Oh." Her eyes fell to his bare feet and she shivered, remembering that her sternum was completely out for Malfoy to ogle at. Unfortunately, her charmed latex jumpsuit had been magicked to remain _comfortable_ , not modest.

"I suppose I should apologize to you, too." Draco downed the milk like she suggested and cleared his throat as if it would dispose of the lingering taste and texture. He was never a fan of cow milk.

"Don't. I provoked you when I had no right. I was just taking out my-" Hermione took a deep breath to prevent a sob as her eyes started to water again. _No crying until he gets released. I won't let him see me cry._ "Frustration of my now-shot future out on you."

"I... I didn't mean for that, although that wasn't very gentleman like of me." He kept his focus on the floor as his jaw clenched again. "I should have done something when Bellatrix started -"

"Draco, don't." Draco looked up hearing her calling him by his first name and she looked down from the intensity of his gaze. He knew the thought was inappropriate to have given the topic of conversation, but he rather liked how she said it. "I heard your testimony. He had your whole family held hostage against each other. I don't – I don't think I actually blame you." Draco leaned back at that, completely floored by her admission. She shook her head before looking up at him and she still had tears in his eyes. "I think I just _wanted_ to. You were a face for me to put all my hate in to." Hermione turned away from him and pressed her back against her wall as the graphic image of his dark mark appeared in her mind again. However Draco cut himself, he did it with something that was equally powerful in magic as the scar prevented was centimeters thick and did not allow the Dark ark to be hole again. It made her stomach turn in the most sickening ways as she didn't need to go into the medical field to know that a human's core instinct was survival. _The fact he had overrode that instinct with the intention of never getting out of that tub..._

They stayed like that for the longest time until he spoke again. "When you came in here, were you... Disguised?"

 _Ah, so he wasn't completely zoinked out of his mind._ "Extended polyjuice potion. I always dress up as my brother on nights I go out for business. It's just an extra layer of protection to keep _The Prophet_ off my back in the event," She waved her arm to gesture to the cell. "Something happens that will get me kicked out of – out of school." Hermione leaned forward as if collapsing into herself would disrupt the sobs that wanted to tear her throat in two. Failing academically had always been one of her major fears; Not only had her boggart in third year proved that by taking the form of a cross McGonagall who had informed Hermione that she had failed her exam, but even a first year Hermione expressed that being expelled was a fate worse than death to Harry and Ron. Admitting it out load had broken her and the dams she thought were strong enough to last until Monday.

"Hey -" Draco's voice was soft as he attempted to stand so he could join her, but she threw a hand out to stop him.

"No. Just stay there." It was obvious she was trying to regain control of her weeping, but Draco refused to just sit there while an ex-classmate who had never ceased to amaze him, broke down.

"Did you give them your brother's information when they arrested you or yours?"

She coughed as her breath hitched in her throat, but she refused to sit up until she knew she for sure was done crying. "His, of course."

"Then you won't get kicked out of school."

Hermione shook her head, her curls drifting across the dirt on the floor as she did so. "When they see I'm a woman -"

"But they won't."

Hermione felt anger bubble up in her again at the sound of his cool voice and while she had just apologized to Draco for unleashing her wrath on him before, she found herself latching on to the fierce emotion, finding it easier to deal with than grief. "You don't -" Draco had sat back down like she had wanted him to, but this time he had the heel of his foot on the bench as he used his knee to prop up an arm.

An arm that was twirling a wand.

"How did you get that?" She _tsked_ as soon as she asked. "You had it brought to you."

"I did." He confirmed. He licked his lips nervously, wishing he could keep the conversation light, but there was something he had to say. "I... I want to help you. To pay you back for what was done." They watched each other intensely, both watching the other with bated breath. "It wouldn't be as good as a polyjuice, but I can add glamours on you, modify your outfit so you look more like a man." His eyes raked over her attire and he tried not to hover too long on her nearly bare chest. The skin tight wear left little of her fit body to the imagination. "With what you went through and what you had done for the Wizarding world, it wouldn't be much -"

"It would mean the world to me if I got out of here without my identity being discovered." This time, Hermione didn't look away as the tears fell. "When I – When I realized I had to leave with Harry and Ron for the Horcrux hunt, I obliviated my family and sent them to Australia." Her lower lips trembled fiercely now and she had to pause to force herself to explain the _real_ reason why she did what she did. "My charms were too strong and I _hope_ that putting myself through healer school, I can some how bring them back." Hermione hung her head and pressed a hand to her mouth. Saying the words out loud to someone she thought she hated just made her realize that it was actually misdirected self loathing.

This time, Draco didn't hesitate when he joined her on her bench. When he put an arm around her, she leaned into him and cried. She cried for her lost family, she cried for what she had resorted to in an attempt to bring them back, and when she was done with that, she cried for him. Cried because she knew the world had misunderstood Draco after sixth year and cried because his trauma was just as bad as hers. _We were just kids. We didn't deserve any of this_.

When she finally quieted, she ended up with hiccups from crying so hard. Draco, despite the small amount of clothing he wore, was still armed with a Malfoy embroidered handkerchief. He offered it to her before he started the charm work to keep her disguised. Not once did he complain about how puffy her features were due to her crying. It made his job slightly difficult, trying to get the measurements right and when he was done making the suit look as if the shoulder pads were just shoulders, he waved his wand at her chest. "Do you want me to transfigure something here? I can probably make the opening more narrow."

"That's fine." She nodded and let her head fall back as he worked, mentally preparing her for what was going to be addressed next.

He stood and brown eyes met gray, and for the first time, they seemed to be on the same page – on the same side. Draco put a hand in her hair and gripped it before he ran a hand down her hair. Hermione held her breath in the surprisingly intimate moment as Draco tried not to think about how he had always wanted to do that. He cleared his throat to speak, but his voice sounded thicker than he would have liked it to. "I have to cut it."

"I know." Hermione gathered her hair, needing both hands to contain its volume. As she tried to ensure she gathered every last strand, a stray memory of her, and Lavender drifted into her mind:

_"I wish I had your hair, Hermione."_

_"What? No you don't." Hermione pulled the lock of hair Lavender had lifted up, out of her perfectly manicured hand._

_"I do. It's so... Unique. Identifiable. I reckon if I we didn't see each other for another ten years, but I saw the back of your head in Diagon Alley, I'd know it was you." Hermione frowned, unsure if Lavender was having a laugh or not. "It's definitely a part of your personality, too. Don't ever cut it."_

Hermione had taken Lavender's words to heart, especially since it was the last conversation she had with the blonde Gryffindor. Hermione treated her hair as an anchor while on the Horcrux hunt as it reminded her that she was Hermione Granger, and she _would_ see the end of the war through.

She sighed and she saw Draco's wand arm lower, mistakening the action for her not wanting to go through with it. Hermione sighed because while she needed the emotional resent, she also needed coming to terms she needed a _complete_ reset. She had only let it get this long because the next time she saw Lavender, it was not ten years in the future, it was while she was lying dead, with Fenrir Greyblack's muzzle dripping over her with her own blood.

Hermione could feel that letting Draco cut her hair, was not just an ending to a significant part of her livelihood, she felt it was signifying a new beginning. One full of forgiveness, and a friendship. "Do it."

And he did.

* * *

"Granger, someone's bailed you out." Hermione's eyes were wide as she sat up, expecting the guard from her first night to say he had been joking. Draco had been released the first thing this morning as he had received bail. She expected to be sitting in this cell a lot longer as Harry had yet to pick up his phone and she was not going to leave a voicemail explaining why she had been arrested. He didn't know how she paid for school and everyone knew the police station phones were bugged. "Are you hoping I'll find another lover to throw in there with you? Come on, let's go!" The cop seemed to be utterly disgruntled that the two had been released early in the Monday morning hours, but his sour mood did not stop her from feeling elated.

 _This has to be a mistake, I don't believe it_. When she approached the cell door, he opened it and let her out, not bothering to cuff her. However, he did grab her arm again as he brought her through the series of locked doors. I know this is a mistake. Hermione bit down on her lip, trying to stop herself from growing too happy at the prospect of actually being set free. _If it is, as soon as I can see the doors, I'll break away and never use Helios in a polyjuice again. The bobbies will look for him, but it will be as if he vanished into thin air. I'll have to buy a new wand but -_

The officer's hold tightened to the point that the area around where his hand was squeezing pulsated in time with her heart beat and she stopped walking to wince at the pain. "Memorized the way to the exit, did you? Well, we have to have you sign paperwork before we just let you off, boy." Hermione wanted to say something slick, but didn't trust her voice to sound masculine enough. After Draco had cut her hair, they spent the rest of their Sunday talking – catching up really - and had completely forgotten to alter her voice.

The officer shoved Hermione towards a glass partition in the hallway. Behind the counter was a woman with tawny skin and small, black Afro. The woman was kind enough when having Hermione sign the paperwork and had even counted out the paper notes Hermione kept in Helios' wallet to make sure it was all there. The woman did not know what to make of her wand, but figured it was part of her the costume as she passed Hermione back the devil horns and tail they confiscated when they arrested her.

Hermione managed to smile as they walked past the last metal door, and into the police station lobby. She nearly dropped all her things when she saw Draco was waiting there, with a regal looking Narcissa Malfoy. She looked entirely out of place, even next to her son as Draco was still wearing his costume, although he had thrown the faux wings and halo in a nearby rubbish bin – the evidence of this was a glittery end of a primary remige feather peaking from the bin's opening. It clicked for her then _who_ had bailed her out. _He didn't even leave to change his clothing_.

When he saw her walk through the door, he gave her a one sided devilish grin. "You didn't think I was going to leave my chav in there, did I?"

Hermione grinned as she looked at the officer who was still holding on to her with an unnecessary amount of pressure. "At least we didn't get caught sucking each other off before we were released." Hermione was delighted by the uncomfortable noise the patronizing officer made as she yanked her arm back and walked over to Draco. She only regretted her words when she saw Narcissa's face, who looked completely scandalized as Draco howled with laughter. No one was expecting such a crass reply from Hermione. "Come on," She whispered, tucking her few belongings into the safety of her latex suit. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

It took a couple of tries, but by the time Draco was opening the door for them, he had schooled his features into his familiar cocky mask. As much as he wanted to stay and continue to piss off the bobbies, he refused the pleasure out of respect for his mother. Without Narcissa's help, Hermione would still be in the custody cell after all.

They had just walked into an alley where they could disapperate in when Hermione broke the silence. "I don't know how I'll pay you back, but I will." Draco and Narcissa both stopped to look back at Hermione before sharing a look with each other. It was apparent they were having a conversation, and at the end of it, Draco looked down as Narcissa set her sharp gaze on Hermione.

"Don't worry about it, dear. Consider it... an apology." Narcissa turned to leave it at that, but Hermione was unsatisfied with the dismissal.

"Regardless if it is, or isn't, I will." Hermione didn't hold back on trying to seem less indignant with her insistence. She had too much pride to be treated like a charity case.

"Fine, then consider it an onboard bonus." Narcissa faced Hermione completely this time, giving the young woman her full, undivided attention.

"I'm sorry?"

"When I visited my son on Saturday he had asked me to bail you out." Hermione's eyes flicked over to Draco his as he stared at his mom. "I said I would, but had no intention to do so without making Draco prove to me he would straighten out this little," Narcissa made a face and wriggled her fingers at her son's attire. " _Act_ out. However, when he realized what I had wanted to do this morning, he informed me of your situation. I would like to offer my condolences on your family and a position at Malfoy Industries so you will not have to worry about resorting to illegal activities to fund your studies. I can assure you I wouldn't have an issue tripling whatever you are being paid now." Hermione looked as if she was about to object, but Narcissa cut her off. "The only other option you have is accepting a scholarship from the Malfoy Foundation which will pay for your studies until the time you graduate." Narcissa smiled and lifted an eyebrow as gave Hermione a once over. "You've only completed one year out of the required four, correct?"

"Y-Yes ma'am." Hermione didn't dare mention that if she had not felt comfortable enough to undo the damage to her family, that she was planning on going back to school for another three years to focus on mind healing specifically. "Honestly, you don't have to -"

"But I do." Narcissa's tone went from amused to stern almost immediately. "What the Ministry did was an absolute disservice to you. It's obvious that while you're bright, you're ambitious – but honest. Something that is needed to balance your other qualities out and I would love to have you work for us. I know you won't just accept the scholarship, so we should stop pretending that you won't accept my offer."

Hermione stared at the icy blue eyes the woman had and realized that Narcissa, was right – slightly egocentric in her demands, but right to assume that Hermione was in no position to refuse. She _had_ to try and bring her family back by any means necessary.

So Hermione said the only thing she could say: "Thank you."

With that, Narcissa walked deeper into the alley and disapperated without saying another word.

"I hope you know that she's known Pansy since she was in nappies, and not once has my mother ever complimented her like that."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him as she continued down the alleyway herself. "Is that right? I believe she also mentioned that she was going to use me as an indirect hostage so you could -"

"You're focusing on the negatives." She could hear the smile in his voice as he teased her. When she felt the were far enough in, she started to raise her wand. "Wait."

Draco took her free hand before placing a kiss on her knuckles. So much has changed in two days.

"I'll owl you? About the job position?" Draco added the second question tentatively, not wanting to overwhelm her after what his mother just forced her in to.

 _Friendship was what she hoped for._ "It doesn't have to be about the job." _But it seems a partner was what she had earned_

**Author's Note:**

> Logic is what the Devil Likes Most – Kelly Braffet
> 
> I do admit this idea might have been bigger than my 8K limit allowed, but I am satisfied with it. Please review :)
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